Is the Columbus Board of REALTORS mls (multiple listing service) a buyers market or a sellers market now? "Now" being through January 2013. A buyers market there is a plentiful supply of homes for buyers to choose from. In a sellers market there is less inventory for buyers to choose from, easier market for a seller. With 6.3 months of inventory in the mls area, it is a balanced market.

Nationally there is talk that home sales are up, inventory is scarce and sellers are receiving multiple offers on their homes. Is that true of homes in the Columbus Board of REALTORS mls?

Central Ohio is a seasonal market because of our climate and the holidays but you can see in the graoh that inventory of homes for sale is down from January 2012. I peeked ahead, for example Worthington is down to less than 3 months of inventory. That's a buyers market. Depending on where you are searching for a home as a buyer you may find slim pickings. Other areas there are plenty of homes to choose from.

The months of inventory based on sales is down 28.8% from this time last year. Less homes for buyers to choose from, good news for sellers. More good news for sellers, the average price of a homes was up 10.1% from a year ago. The median sale price of a home in the Columbus Board of REALTORS mls was up a healthy 15.5%. Days on market for homes sold shrunk by 24.6% from this time last year.

The graph shows the inventory of homes for sale for the past 15 months based on sales.

The "homes" here are all single family resale listings in the Columbus Board of REALTORS mls. In a couple of weeks when the Columbus Board of REALTORS officially announce how the real estate market did in January 2012 to members and the media, they will be talking residential sales which includes condos and new homes.

Columbus Board of REALTORS MLS Buyers Market or Sellers Market? was published in February 2013 based on data available from the Columbus Board of REALTORS mls at the end of January 2013. According to Trendgraphix neither CBR nor the mls guarantee the accuracy of the data. Trendgraphix says: “Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.” I must rely on their info, I can offer no guarantee either. I believe the mls data is getting better all the time though.

Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.